STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- More than 500 people have packed the auditorium at New Dorp High School where a town hall meeting for Staten Island victims of Hurricane Sandy is currently underway, and an overflow crowd in the lobby of about 100 people are angry they can't get in.

Police began preventing people from entering the auditorium once it reached standing room-only capacity shortly after 7 p.m. The meeting, sponsored by Borough President James P. Molinaro, was organized to allow Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) representatives and other city officials answer questions about filing for benefits.

"I want to put together all the parts that make the whole, city, state and federal," Molinaro said earlier this week. "There are a lot more benefits out there than people are aware of."

He said he also wants to clear up some confusion that victims have about benefits.

He said some Islanders incorrectly think that if they take advantage of the city's Rapid Repair program, they would not be eligible for benefits from FEMA or their insurance companies. Taking advantage of Rapid Repair does not interfere with other benefits, he stressed.---Follow @siadvance on Twitter